Honeysuckle Bluebird: variety description, photo, growing characteristics

In this article we want to talk about honeysuckle. It is a very popular shrub in our gardens and homesteads. The plant has a decorative appearance and at the same time it is unpretentious, and it fructifies fairly early, giving berries rich in vitamins.

Honeysuckle Bluebird

Honeysuckle is a low shrub. The plant is quite resistant to different climatic conditions and types of soils. The culture itself came to us from distant regions of Russia: Kamchatka, Magadan, Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands. There, for a long time, this plant was known and used by local residents as a medicine for many diseases. Of particular value are the berries of this culture, of which the most delicious jam is brewed.

At present, such varieties of shrub are known: Kamchadalka, Gzhelka, Wiliga, Morena, Cinderella, Altair, Amphora, Leningrad, Blue Bird. There are other varieties, their number reaches several tens. All of them were removed by gardeners from one ancestor.

What is honeysuckle Bluebird? This is one of the varieties that came to us from Kamchatka. He quickly found his fans among gardeners. Due to its ability to adapt quickly, the plant became very common. Variety of honeysuckle Bluebird has a special value because of its fruits. They have a sweet taste and at the same time some sourness, which is much less than in other varieties.

Perhaps, this is the only plant from which you can harvest shortly after the winter period. In May, you can safely eat blue fruits, in which there is so much ascorbic acid that they can compete with the black currant.

Honeysuckle Bluebird: description

As we have already mentioned, the ancestor of all varieties is Kamchatka honeysuckle. It was from her that the Bluebird was obtained. This is an early variety of universal purpose. Berries of blue-black plant are fragrant and tasty with a characteristic wax coating. Overripe fruits fall from the bushes, but still well preserved. Knowing gardeners before ripening under the bushes spread some clean material to avoid damage to the crop. Culture will not be bad enough. Productivity is 1.6 kilograms from one bush.

Honeysuckle Bluebird, like other varieties, needs pollinators very much. According to experts, other cultivars are best suited for this: the Blue Spindle, Kamchadalka, Cinderella, Sinichka Morena. It is believed that the best option is to keep at least three varieties on one site.

Honeysuckle Bluebird is a sprawling, vigorous oval bush with rather thin branches. Young shoots have a margin, and last year's are covered with bark. The culture tolerates winter frosts and even cold weather during flowering. But the summer heat and winter thaws are not so harmless for her.

Grade Blue spindle

Honeysuckle Blue spindle is an early-ripening variety, derived by the Leningrad Institute of Horticulture named after M. Lisavenko. It was tested on experimental sites since 1980. Shrubs of this variety belong to vigorous plants, they reach a height of one meter. Honeysuckle has a round and rather rare crown. The shoots of the plant have no edges and are colored green. And the sunny side of the sheet differs in shade from the shadow. The leaves are large oval in a dark green color.

Honeysuckle Blue spindle differs from other varieties of large berries. Wherever the plant grows, the fruits will always be large and outwardly similar to the spindle. Apparently this is what served as the idea for the name of the variety. Berries are painted in blue-blue color with a strong wax coating. The very surface of the fruit is very dense and bumpy.

The flesh of the berries has a very delicate texture with fresh taste. In conditions of arid weather, the fruits acquire some bitterness. The taste characteristics of berries are very different from the place of growth of the plant.

The culture is fruitful in the middle of June. The blue spindle belongs to high-yielding and early-ripening varieties. From one bush it is possible to collect from one and a half and up to 2.5 kg of berries. The culture is winter-hardy and drought-resistant, besides it is not susceptible to pests.

Planting and care

How is the bluebird getting divorced? Planting and caring for the plant has its own characteristics. In principle, culture itself is unpretentious. Still, you need to know some of the nuances of planting honeysuckle and what to do in the future to get a decent harvest. Of course, the plant itself has a decorative appearance, but for many gardeners, it is berries that are of interest, so yield is one of the main parameters.

The basic rules of cultivation of culture:

1. The honeysuckle bush loves sunlight.
2. Once every two years, humus is inevitably introduced into the soil.
3. For proper growth, it is sometimes necessary to prune shoots.
4. For the winter it is necessary to cover plants.
5. In the spring, when buds appear, the bushes are covered from the birds with any material.

The main care for the culture is reduced to the implementation of these rules. But we must remember that, in principle, the plant is barren, so he should be helped. Honeysuckle needs cross-pollination. Well, when there are two or three plant varieties on the site, then the problem is solved by itself. Experts advise for pollination to use special varieties of pollinators: Sinichka, Cinderella, Blue spindle, Laura, Morena, Cinderella.

Honeysuckle Blue bird early fruiting, not prone to disease and not afraid of temperature changes. Nevertheless, if there is a desire to transplant the bush in the garden, it is better to wait until the end of the summer. And in pots or greenhouses you can do it in the autumn time, then the roots are better adapted.

Shrubs are durable enough and bear fruit for 20-30 years. The first harvest of berries can be obtained after transplantation not earlier than in two or three years. So do not expect fast fruiting.

Soil preparation for planting

Before planting honeysuckle, it is necessary to properly prepare the soil, since much depends on its quality and kind. Not all household plots can boast of black earth.

At the site of the future planting of the bush, drainage should be prepared, which will promote nutrition of nutrients and normal aeration. In sandy soils, a mixture of loam and peat must be introduced. And in clay sand and peat. In addition, it will not be superfluous to introduce fertilizers into any soil. It is good in such cases to use manure or compost from peat.

As for liming, then its need can be judged only by the place: it is suitable for this soil or not.

Acquisition of seedlings and planting

Acquiring seedlings of culture, you should certainly choose plants that are not less than thirty centimeters high. At the same time, the bush should be older than three years and have a good root system. Pay attention to that the plant was without signs of illness. Of course, the most acceptable option is to purchase seedlings grown in pots.

Honeysuckle edible (photo shown in the article) can be used on your site as a hedge. It is necessary to maintain the distance between the bushes at least half a meter. The depth of the pit when planting should be no more than forty centimeters, and in diameter it will be enough to be sixty centimeters.

Each well should be fertilized and sprinkled with lime if the soil is acidic, then fill the fertile layer and compact. After planting, the plant must be watered.

After-plant care

Honeysuckle edible Blue bird after planting needs care. The bush must be watered abundantly. In the growing season, the plant is moistened four to five times. For an adult plant, you need three or four buckets of water. Water better in the evening to avoid significant evaporation.

The soil is recommended to loosen until about the middle of summer. In this care only young bushes are needed. Loosen very carefully to avoid damage to the roots. You can mulch the soil near the trunk to prevent rapid loss of moisture.

Trimming the bushes

Honeysuckle edible (photo is given in the article) needs pruning. This is done primarily to obtain a good harvest. Pruning provides an opportunity to ensure the supply of sunlight to the twigs and get rid of problem shoots.

Pruning plants of variety Bluebird has its own characteristics:

1. The most suitable time for pruning is March, April, when the kidneys did not wake up.
2. The shoots of honeysuckle are shortened so that they will branch better in the future.
3. Separately growing twigs should not be shortened at the very ground, it is better to leave them about half a meter long.
4. Sick shoots are subject to immediate pruning.
5. As one of the measures to increase the yield, it is possible to use the thinning of the seedlings, which is laid on the ground.
6. As for the young twigs, it is necessary to leave the strongest, even and healthy.
7. For the rejuvenation of old bushes, they are thinned annually.
8. You do not need to cut off the tips of shoots without need.

Reviews of the Bluebird variety

Among experienced gardeners there are many fans of the variety. What is good blue honeysuckle? Reviews of this species indicate that the plant is rather unpretentious to the soil and undemanding to the climatic conditions. The main advantage of the variety is dessert taste of berries. The plant is resistant to shattering and frost, it is not subject to frost. To the disadvantages of variety, gardeners refer to the insufficient yield, which one always wants to increase.

It should be understood that fruiting directly depends on the quality of care and pruning. So there is always something to strive for.

Gardeners also note the decorative properties of the plant. It has beautiful greenery, especially spectacular in the period of fruiting. The bushes can be used even as a hedge.

The Bluebird variety is chosen by those gardeners who seek the earliest berries on their site. It is this type of honeysuckle that has early maturation periods. So it bears fruit before its brethren.

Diseases

We have already mentioned that the Bluebird is quite resistant to various diseases. However, over time, old plants can be recruited from other garden residents of various diseases. Therefore, experienced gardeners prefer after the fruiting process honeysuckle Bordeaux fluid, which is a good measure of prevention against fungal diseases.

The projection of the crown of the plant should be cleared of weeds, which also prevents the defeat of the bushes.

Useful properties of berries

Honeysuckle is not just an ornamental plant. It has long been valued by people for their useful properties. In folk medicine, for centuries, honeysuckle has been used as a medicine to treat various diseases. The berry contains vitamins B, glucose, fructose, vitamins A, P, C, as well as organic acids.

As for vitamin C, it is in fruits no less than in strawberries and lemons. And on the mineral composition, few can compete with honeysuckle. Berries contain: copper, manganese, magnesium, phosphorus, calcium, potassium.

Interesting is the fact that the composition of the fruit affects the place of growth. If, for example, the bush grows in a dry climate, the acidity decreases and the sugar and tannin content increases, so the berries acquire bitterness.

And growing in moist conditions increases the content of vitamin C. It is for this reason that honeysuckle grown in a temperate continental climate is so rich in monosaccharides and vitamin C.

Instead of an afterword

Honeysuckle is a good plant for the garden. It will not only adorn it, but with proper care it will give you a good harvest of berries rich in useful substances and vitamins.